December 30, 2010 3:11 pm

Three Washington State Patrol troopers were involved in accidents overnight on icy freeways in King County that left two of them injured.

Early this morning, a trooper was outside his patrol car investigating two collisions on northbound Interstate 405 just north of Interstate 5 when a truck spun out of control on the icy freeway about 5 a.m., hit him and then struck two cars.

State Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Julie Startup said the trooper, who was on the side of the freeway , was able to jump partially out of the way.

“The trooper was standing about 15 feet off of the roadway checking for injuries next to collision-damaged vehicles when he observed rotating headlights moving toward him,” Startup said. ” As a red Ford Pickup truck rotated off the road it struck the trooper and two vehicles that had already been involved in a collision. ”

She said he was able to continue with his work and then went to a hospital to be checked out for minor injuries.

The driver of the car that spun out of control – a 46-year-old Burien man- was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs, Startup said.

Seven hours earlier on Wednesday night, Startup said a trooper was responding to a report of a collision in the HOV lane on State route 167 near Central Avenue in Kent.

A car traveling in front of him spun out of control on the ice and the trooper hit the car, she said.

The trooper was identified as John Pierce, 32, of Tacoma. He was taken to Valley Medical Center in Renton with non life threatening injuries, the spokeswoman said..

The driver of the other car, a 49-year-old Renton man, also was taken to Valley Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Startup said a second trooper responding to the other trooper’s accident also was involved in a crash not far from that accident.

She said a large tractor trailer truck clipped the right side of a passenger car and pushed it into the side of the patrol car.

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